


Safe

by bluereadingdolphin



Category: Kaleidotrope (Podcast)
Genre: Fairy Tale Elements, Happy Ending, M/M, Pining, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:41:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27582197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluereadingdolphin/pseuds/bluereadingdolphin
Summary: Harrison is a great adventurer, on a quest to find the princess Calissandra and save her, to win her hand in marriage.Drew lives alone in the mountains, hiding himself from anything to do with the kingdom belowWhen Harrison gets injured and Drew takes care of him while he heals, they form a slow friendship, and the cabin in the mountains becomes a safe place for both of them.
Relationships: Drew/Harrison (Kaleidotrope), Hal/Sam (Kaleidotrope)
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

The forest is dark, tall trees reaching up like hands aching to touch the sky. Harrison curses himself for thinking about that instead of the pack of wolves racing behind him, and tries to redirect his thoughts to the path ahead of him. Moonlight flashes through the trees, and in any other situation he would have stopped to admire the way everything looks magical and touched with silver. Wow, he  _ really  _ needs to focus on running and not thinking about how pretty everything looks. Where has he ended up? He really doesn't know, but it sure is far away from the path he set up camp on. Getting back on the trail to find Calissandra is going to be a struggle. As he thinks this, as though to highlight how distracted he is, he trips. A horrible, horrible snapping noise comes from his knee, and something happens to his shoulder that makes the whole thing go numb and limp. The last thing he notices before darkness covers his vision is a bobbing orange light and shouting. 

He moves in and out of consciousness for a while, seeing flickers of light or hearing snatches of talking. Ever present is the pain, stabbing into his knee and periodically lancing up his arm. He doesn't know how long he lay wherever he was, but when the fog over his mind finally clears he isn't in the forest anymore. The room he's found himself in is clean and rustic looking, and he's laid down under crisp white sheets. As soon as he begins to take stock of his surroundings, the pain returns, more vicious than before now that it isn't dulled by sleep. Attempting to stand causes him to feel so dizzy that he falls back down on the bed, shaking his head to clear the fog. Taking deep breaths only brings his attention to bandages which were wrapped tightly around his chest, but he tries anyway. Footsteps come closer from outside the door, and he automatically tenses up in preparation to do...something. It doesn't really make sense for this person to be a threat, because anything could have happened to him while he was laid here for an unidentified amount of time. The door swings open, and someone walks in, holding what looks like a glass of thick, green pond water and a bowl of soup.

"Ah, you're awake. How're you feeling?" The stranger asks, setting down what he brought in on a table and sitting down on a chair next to the bed. 

"In pain." Harrison answers, dryly. 

"This will help with that." He slides the glass of green slush toward Harrison. "I'm Drew, by the way. Your cloak says Harrison in it?"

"Yeah, I'm Harrison. Where am I, exactly?" Tentatively, he reaches out for the glass and drinks a little. He very quickly swallows, grimacing at the taste. 

"I'm sorry about that. There's really no way to make those taste good." Draw says, wincing. "You're in my house, I live out in the forest. I heard a lot of noise outside with the wolves and came out to find you. You'd fallen, I'm not exactly sure what happened. You were out for...around two days, I think." Drew resettles himself as Harrison quickly drinks the rest of the medicine.

"Oh. I think I tripped over something when I was running. I heard a snapping noise...It wasn't great."

"You've torn something in your knee, so it's going to take a while until you can walk properly again. Your shoulder got dislocated, but I set it so it shouldn't be too long until that's working again. When you fell you also cracked your ribs, which is why you're not wearing a shirt - i had to bandage them up for support." Drew blushes almost imperceptibly, and Harrison averts his eyes.

"How long do you think it's going to take for me to get better? And...where do I go?" 

"I'd guess at about six weeks? Maybe longer, maybe shorter, it depends. And you can stay here as long as you need to. Unless you have somewhere else to stay or anything, I can...probably get you places?" Drew shuffles his feet. "I gather that you ran away from your campsite, I'll go out and gather your belongings as soon as I can."

"You seem nice, I'll stay here. If - well you said that was okay." Harrison is also faintly red now, and he focuses his attention on the soup to distract himself. 

"Yeah. Okay!" Drew pauses, then asks: "before you eat, would you mind if I checked your injuries? I want to make sure I've supported everything correctly." When Harrison nods his assent, he goes about checking for progress on Harrison's knee and shoulder, making sure they still have a certain amount of motion. 

"I'm - going to have to poke at your chest to check your ribs."

"Yeah! That's fine!" Harrison's voice has risen a few pitches, but neither of them says anything about that or Drew's bright red face. 

Drews touches are light, applying a little pressure to see where things are healing. Harrison tells him which parts hurt and which don't, and when it's done Drew leaves the room to allow Harrison to eat on his own. Harrison watches him go with an odd feeling settling in his stomach, which he chalks up to hunger and refuses to think about for now. 

A few days of utter boredom later, Harrison manages to drag himself out of bed. It takes much longer than it should, and he has to take periodic breaks on the way to the living room, but he manages it with Drew’s help. They sit down, and an awkward silence hangs over the room like a fog. 

“So, what brought you out into this part of the woods? Other than the fact that you were being chased by wolves.” Drew asks, folding his legs up into the chair beneath him and looking over at Harrison.   
“I’m on a quest! I wanted to find Princess Calissandra so that we could get married and everything. Y’know, the whole classic story.” Harrison answers, a faint smile on his face as he stares out of the window. He misses Drew’s face freezing, misses the flash of fear filling his eyes, and misses the slight worry creasing his eyebrows. 

“Oh.” Is all Drew actually says.

“Yeah, it’s going to be so romantic! The princess has been missing for two years and three months, and the king is  _ desperate  _ so something bad must have happened, and I could be the one to fix all that!”   
“Are there more people looking too?” Drew is twisting his hands in knots, but manages to keep his voice neutral.   
“Not really. I think most people gave up on her ever being found, but not me! Or Hal, who was the princess’ best friend apparently. She saw me at an adventuring guild and asked for my help.”   
“I see.”

“You aren’t looking for Cal too?” Harrison gasps, looking over at Drew who only looks back in surprise.

“...no? I just live here, I didn’t really - I’ve been keeping out of the kingdom’s business for a while.”

“You could help me then, once I’m better and everything!” 

“Did you - did you ever consider that the princess might not want to be found?” Drew bites his lip to keep himself from saying anything else.   
“Of course not! She’s been kidnapped or something, that’s what the king said! So she wants to be found, duh.” Harrison tries to wave his arms around in excitement and then remembers that his arm is actually in a lot of pain and immediately regrets moving. “Ah. That hurts a lot.”

“Maybe it’s time for you to get back to resting?” Drew says, moving to stand.  
“Please don’t make me get back into bed, I’ll get so _bored._ ”  
“I’ll bring you some books and you can sit here, then. I need to do some work outside.”

“Works for me.”   
  
Drew brings him a small stack of books from the shelf, hands him a bell to ring if anything goes horribly wrong, and walks out of the cottage. He doesn’t actually have anything to do outside, but he needs a moment to clear his head. Calissandra...he hasn’t heard that name in...well, two years and three months. He feels bad about Hal though, he really hadn’t told her anything about what was happening. He hadn’t told anyone really, but knowing that Hal still thinks about him makes him feel guilty. And now Harrison is here. Looking for her, and asking for his help. Drew laughs to himself, alone in the middle of a forest, and a bird startles from the tree next to him. He looks back at the cottage which has been his only real home for so long, thinks about the people in the village nearby who have kept him fed and haven’t asked questions about why someone dressed in such fine clothes is moving into a long abandoned cottage in the woods, and shakes his head. He can’t do this. He just has to wait until Harrison has left, and then everything can go back to normal. Briefly, he considers the golden necklace which lies buried under his floorboards, and the healing properties it’s meant to have. He dismisses that idea quickly, however, it’s too recognisable, and he can’t risk Harrison asking where he got it from. This healing process will just have to go in the usual way, slow and painful. 

"So, where are you from?" Harrison asks, a few days later.

"Uh." It seems logical to tell the truth here, to prevent him from getting tangled up in his own lies. "The capital, actually."

"Oh! Did you ever meet the princess?" Harrison sits up quickly, and appears to regret it just as fast.

"No. Left pretty soon after she did, actually. Or. When she was kidnapped, I mean." Drew internally groans. That's too close, he'll suspect something is wrong. This is  _ difficult. _

"Why did you leave then? Oh, are you a fugitive? Is that why you're living alone in the mountains? You have to tell me if you're a wanted criminal!" Harrison continues, oblivious.

"Nothing that exciting. Just had to get out of a bad situation, it's fine." That's the truth, at least.

"Oh. That's okay then." The room falls silent apart from the crackling of the fireplace. 

"How about you?" Drew asks.

"I'm from the capital too, actually. ...not a great bit of it, but I'm from the capital." Harrison shrugs. 

"I see."

"That's where I met Hal, actually! I think I already told you that story though."

"Yeah. She sent you to look for...Calissandra, right?"

"She actually called her Cal, but yeah." 

"Huh." She remembers. Hal remembers the name.

"I guess it's a nickname or something." Harrison says.

"Must be."

Harrison heals slowly. He says something about always having had a slow healing process, and Drew smiles and says that it's okay, and he can stay as long as he wants to. They talk a lot, because when there's two of you stuck in a house and one of you can't walk very well, there's not much else to do. Very slowly, Drew drops some of his defences. He explains that he feels safe here, and talks about the book he's writing. Maybe he'll send it off to get published someday, but for now he's keeping it to himself. 

Harrison lets some of the overly enthusiastic peppiness fade away, and talks about growing up without much money, and his endless chasing of something better for himself. His mentions of Cal become less frequent, and he quietly admits to Drew that he doesn't feel great about the whole "marrying her without her consent" thing. Drew avoids mentioning the princess at all, and the weeks move along. 

It's when Harrison is feeling good enough to leave that it gets worse. 

"You can come with me! It'll be fun! And you'll get out of the house, you can see some more of the world - for your book!"

"I'll pass, thank you." Drew clenches the hand held behind his back into a fist, and takes a very slow breath. They've had this… _ discussion _ before, and Harrison is refusing to drop it.

"I have an organised plan and everything, it'll be so safe. Nothing can go wrong!"

"Like getting chased by wolves and becoming seriously injured wasn't a tiny hitch in your plan?" He regrets it, immediately, but he can't take it back now.

"Well. That was a mistake, those happen! It's all a part of the quest!" Harrison sounds less and less convinced as he goes.

"Sure."

"Look, I understand why you don't want to leave. You're  _ scared.  _ You're scared of everything and everyone, so you're going to stay holed up in you cabin in the mountains until you  _ die. _ "

"What if that's what I want? What if this is the only place I've ever felt safe, and that's why I don't want to leave? You don't understand me at  _ all _ Harrison! You say I'm the one who's scared of everything, but why do you go chasing after someone who you don't even want to marry?"

"At least I'm doing  _ something! _ At least I'm not hiding in the goddamn mountains!"

"I think we're done here. You're well enough to leave."

"Drew -"

"No. Go out on your quest. I'll stay here and hide in the mountains." Drew turns around and leaves the room, leaving Harrison standing alone, holding his belongings and staring after him. 

The morning is crisp and cool. It's going to be winter very soon, Drew can smell it on the air. He'll have to start stockpiling food. He sits down outside, picking up a leaf off the ground and systematically tearing it apart. 

"I used to be Cal." He says, suddenly. It feels strange to say it, for that name to be attached to him again after spending two and a half years running from it. Or hiding, he supposes is more accurate. "I didn't tell you, because I didn't want you to be disappointed. You had this massive built up thing of what she was going to be like, and all you're ever going to find is a sad author who lives alone in the mountains." He doesn't know who he's talking to. Harrison isn't here anymore, he's not around to hear this.

"I think I fell in love with you, too." He laughs, bitterly. "Imagine how sad that is. Falling in love with someone who wants to marry a different version of you. I guess you'll never know now." Drew stands up, shaking his head. Behind him, something cracks a twig in the forest.

" _ Darn. _ " He hears, and he turns around.

"Harrison?" He asks, nerves roiling in his stomach.

"Uh. Hi."

"What. You left."

"I tried. But I got really lost again, and then I found the passage back to your cabin, but I didn't know if you were still angry so I slept in the log house but then you came out here and I just." Harrison sighs. "I didn't mean to overhear you."

"That's not your fault." Drew nods toward the door. "I'm sorry for shouting at you. Come inside?"

"Yeah. Sounds good."

Drew makes them tea, and they sit down. On the same couch this time, instead of opposite chairs.

"So, you're trans right?" Harrison asks.

"Yeah." Is all Drew responds with, staring intently at his tea.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I wouldn't drop the whole...Cal thing, even though it made you super uncomfortable. I should have listened."

"Oh. Apology accepted."

"So what now?"

"Well, I'd greatly appreciate it if you didn't go back to the capital and declare this to everyone there. But otherwise, it's up to you really."

"Well of course I won't do that. There is one other thing - you did confess your love for me…" Harrison trails off, eyebrows raised.

"I did. Sorry about that."

"Why would you be sorry?"

"Because I don't want to make you uncomfortable?"

"Well. You didn't."

"Good?" Drew looks up in confusion at Harrison, who is smiling faintly.

"Drew, why do you think I left so fast?"

"That seems random." Drew shrugs. "I assumed it was because you wanted to get back to finding...the princess."

"I panicked, actually. Falling in love with a guy I met in the mountains after he saved my life didn't really fit into my overall life plan." Harrison is grinning now, and Drew is staring back at him.

"Oh.  _ Oh. _ "

"Yeah."

They lean in slowly, and then they're kissing. After a moment, they pull apart and rest their foreheads together. Harrison laughs a little, breathy laugh, and buries his head in Drew's shoulder. 

They can't stay here forever. But they can say here, in this isolated cabin in the mountains, for now. And that's good enough.


	2. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's an epilogue!

Harrison is late. That's all Drew's mind is getting stuck on, as he paces up and down in front of his cabin. Their cabin, for the past two months. Up and down, up and down. Harrison had only gone into town for a few errands. To let people know that he's moving, to say goodbye, to gather some of his possessions. Back and forth, back and forth. There are only three possible reasons. One, he isn't coming back. Drew forces that thought back in his mind, trying desperately to clear it out. That isn't likely, right? Right. Two, Harrison got captured, injured, or maybe held back by the palace. Drew doesn't really want to think about that option, either. The thought of the one person he's had a connection to in the past two and a half years getting hurt makes him feel sick. The third - and probably most likely option - is that there had been some kind of insignificant holdup, and Harrison has been unable to contact him. Of course. Everything is going to be okay, he just has to be patient. 

Drew is usually a very patient person, but he's almost worn a hole in his carpet with all the pacing he's been doing. It started to rain, and he moved inside, because standing out in the rain to wait for Harrison feels just a little  _ too  _ dramatic. The wind outside has picked up, and it whistles through the trees with a sound like screaming. Suddenly, like Drew spins around. Chores. He should clean the house, to keep himself busy. He did that before, when he was alone. Must have done, what else did he do without another person around to take up space in the house. 

He's not coming back. That's the only explanation. Drew's eyes are now circled by shadow, a remnant of the sleepless night he spent staring at the ceiling. It's so  _ cold  _ now that Harrison doesn't cling to him, octopus-like, all night. He's cleaned the entire house from top to bottom, gone on two walks and one run to try and clear his head, and cut an entire stack of logs for firewood. But he's not coming back, that much is clear now. He just needs to accept that, and move on with his life.

A sharp knock at the door causes Drew to stretch out of the foetal position he's been holding on the couch. The couch where he'd had his first kiss with Harrison, he doesn't think. He moves quickly to the door though, running a hand through his hair and straightening his shirt as he goes. 

Harrison is on the other side, smiling.

"Drew! I'm back! I had to run some extra errands that I didn't expect, sorry for being -" he's cut off by Drew wrapping his arms around his neck, sighing.

"I missed you." Drew says, his voice muffled.

"If I knew I was just being brought here to witness disgusting lovey stuff I would have stayed home." A dry voice comes from Drew's left, and he looks up in surprise. 

"Hal?" He asks, looking between Hal and Harrison, who grins nervously.

"Uh, you said you regretted not telling her, and well, I saw her in the city, and I just. I should have told you that I would bring her, but I was just so excited, and I wanted to surprise you!"

"Harrison. It's okay." Drew cuts off Harrison's panicked rambling. "I do wish you'd told me, but I'm pretty sure Hal is going to be cool with everything. It'll be okay."

"Yeah."

"So how's Sam?" Drew is making tea in the kitchen, while Hal has installed herself into one of the chairs near the fireplace.

"Sam is good. I proposed to her recently, actually."

"Oh." Drew's hands still. "I'm sorry I missed it."

"You could be invited to the wedding, if you wanted." Hal says, carefully. 

"I don't - I'm not sure. I'd have to think about it."

"Yeah."

The silence hovers in the room like an oppressive cloud.

"I - I wanted to ask about my family. How are they doing?" Drew places three teacups and a pot of tea on the table. Hal eyes him warily.

"I'm assuming you'd rather I tell the truth?"

"That would be ideal."

"Your mom thinks you're dead. She's mostly given up hope of you ever coming back. Your dad  _ hasn't,  _ but it's mostly denial I think. He's also got no heir now, so I can't imagine that isn't related." She shrugs. "I held out hope that you were still out there somewhere, but I was starting to lose hope too, honestly. You've been gone for a while, Drew."

"You got my name right."

" _ Obviously. _ " Hal rolls her eyes, and Drew cracks a small smile. 

"Thank you."

"There's literally nothing to thank me for. I'm just here because of Harrison. Thank him, if anyone - but not while I'm here, that's just gross."

"Are you staying?"

"For a while, sure. I can get a message out to Sam so she can visit too, if you'd be okay with that."

"That would be wonderful."

It  _ is _ wonderful. Hal and Sam spend a month out in the mountains, under the pretence of a holiday - which is what it is, really, so that's not untrue. Drew learns about everything that's happened in the capital in his absence, and he fills the others in on the petty squabbles of the nearby village- Sidlesmith - and the fact that the villagers have taken to coming to see him for advice. 

On the day of Hal and Sam's wedding, Drew is there to give Hal away. Nobody knows he will be there, and there's a lot of shock at the former princess coming back as a prince. There will always be some people who take time to get adjusted to it, or never do. But over time, everything feels easier. The king reinstates Drew as his heir, the Queen comes out of mourning, Harrison moves into the palace, and Drew does his best to help the poor in the city.

A ring rests in a drawer in Drew's desk, buried under files and papers. He won't give it away yet, but someday, maybe. 

And they all live happily ever after.

**Author's Note:**

> I do not know how good this is but if I don't post it now I never will. This was originally inspired by Bismuth! Sorry it took so long to write
> 
> I'm gonna write an epilogue at some point, but I'm not sure when.


End file.
